Internet Access Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
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Internet Access Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) (including Online Teaching & Learning) Date: March 2020 Review Date: Sept 2020 Policy Contact: Mr James Passam, Deputy Head 1 INTERNET ACCESS ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY (AUP) 1. This policy sets out acceptable use of the School network, the ICT equipment and access to the internet and e-mail facilities. All staff and pupils are required to adhere to the directives laid down in the policy and any breach may lead to disciplinary and/or legal action. The School reserves the right to monitor usage of the network, and pupils should be aware that routine monitoring will lead to the discovery of policy violations, in particular visits to inappropriate sites and the downloading or transmission of copyright material. Annual reviews of this Acceptable Use Policy will be undertaken and amendments made to reflect changes in the services provided by the School, changes in UK law and the evolution of Information and Communication Technology in the wider sense. Both staff and pupils must ensure that they adhere to the current version of the AUP. Separate guidance is provided for the safe use of the internet, e-mail and other such resources in the School’s Cyber-Safety Booklet. This policy should also be read in conjunction with the School’s Anti-Bullying Policy, and the School’s 2. Cyberbullying The School will not tolerate cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is defined as the use of information and communications technology (ICT), particularly e-mail, mobile phones and the internet, to deliberately upset someone else. It can take many forms, including threats, intimidation, harassment or cyberstalking by, for example, repeatedly sending unwanted messages or texts. Cyberbullying is referred to in the School’s general Anti-Bullying Policy and Cyber-bullying Policy. 3. Bystanders In cases of cyberbullying bystanders, or ‘accessories’ to the bullying, often have a more active role, e.g. forwarding messages or contributing to chat room discussions. Therefore although they may not have started the bullying they are active participants and often make the matter worse. The School makes it clear to all pupils that bystanders have a key responsibility to the School community and to anyone they see being bullied or victimised. They are encouraged not to tolerate such behaviour and to stand up for what they know to be right, for example by telling a member of staff what they have seen or heard. Access to the School’s ICT resources is a privilege and continuance of this facility requires pupils to behave appropriately and to display a responsible attitude at all times. 4. General The internet and related services are provided for students and staff at Seaford College to further educational goals and objectives. Each student and staff member is responsible for his/her behaviour and communications over the network. Users must abide by the School’s general standards, including all safeguarding requirements, code of conduct, and the common courtesies. Any use of the School ICT resources, including communications (e.g. e-mails, video conferencing) and storage of data (whether on a network resource or external storage media provided by the School, or accessed using the School’s network) may be reviewed. Users cannot expect files on School servers or School provided cloud storage media to be private. 2 5. Network Access All users must always use his/her own account to access the network. Any attempt to impersonate another user or to interfere with data stored on the network by another user will be treated as a serious offence. Both these activities are illegal under UK law. Passwords must be chosen carefully – they should not be readily ‘guessable’ – and kept secure. A password must never be divulged to others. If it is suspected that a password is known by other users, it must be changed immediately. If a user identifies a potential security problem, he/she must notify a member of the ICT support staff immediately. Students and staff must take every precaution to ensure that computer viruses are not introduced onto the network. The use of VPNs (Virtual Private Network) are strictly forbidden, and any user found to be using one to circumnavigate the Schools’ internet filter will likely be removed from the network for a period of time, and face a disciplinary process. 6. E-mail All students and teaching staff are provided with a School email account. Only the school account should be used for communication between staff and students. Students should not email their teachers using private email accounts, and under no circumstances should a teacher email a student using their private email account. All e-mails must be polite and use appropriate language. In particular they must not contain any material that could be considered abusive, sexist, racist or that incites hatred or is known to be simply untrue. E-mails should not reveal personal details, whether about the sender or someone else, nor should they be used to arrange a meeting with someone known only via the internet. Any pupil receiving an abusive or offensive e-mail should inform a member of staff immediately. He or she should not respond to such messages. Pupils should not engage in ‘spamming’ or participate in chain e-mails. The use of e-mail for social purposes should be kept proportional to the primary academic purpose. Social e-mail is strictly forbidden during lessons without explicit permission of a member of staff. E-mails sent to external recipients on behalf of Seaford College must be carefully written and authorised by a member of staff BEFORE sending. Use of, and access to, emails is the responsibility of the user, and all users should exercise full care and caution when accessing email accounts, and opening email attachments. If a user suspects that they may have accidentally opened a malicious email, they must notify the IT Support Team immediately. 7. The Internet Viewing, retrieving, downloading or transmitting illegal or inappropriate material is prohibited, as is knowingly visiting websites where such material may be found. Any user discovering such sites accidentally should report the details to a member of if the IT support staff immediately. Any user deliberately found to be accessing inappropriate material on any device within the School premises, or using school devices (including off-site) will be deemed to have transgressed either the Schools’ Behaviour Policy (Students) or Staff Code of Conduct (All Staff). The School uses a Sophos 3 filter to monitor all searches, access to websites on all devices, and regular reports are generated and passed to the Deputy Heads, and DSL. Intellectual property rights must be respected at all times. Users must not create and/or transmit material which infringes copyright. It is a breach of the School’s plagiarism policy to pass off another’s work as one’s own and this extends to information obtained electronically. All internet sources must be acknowledged when producing pieces of work. Use of the School’s internet and ICT facilities for financial gain, advertising or other commercial activities is prohibited. 8. ICT Hardware Users must respect the School’s network infrastructure and ICT equipment, and take appropriate care when using it. Any damage, however caused, must be reported immediately to a relevant member of IT support staff. Hardware must not be connected, disconnected or tampered with in any manner without explicit permission. This includes the use of any software or any app used to bypass the College’s filters. Unnecessary waste or abuse of ICT resources (for example inappropriate printing) may result in financial charges and/or suspension of network access. 9. Online Learning The School makes use of FireFly as a learning platform for the setting of prep tasks, and for providing student information including academic reports. Users are issued with a secure username and password, and should ensure that these remain private. Parents, Teaching Staff and Students are allowed access to appropriate parts of the platform for each user group. Zoom is an online video conferencing tool made available to teaching staff to support learning from home. The following points should be observed by all users: • Only sessions facilitating group lessons should be hosted (no one-to-one sessions are permitted (except in respect of peripatetic staff and designated safeguarding leads as detailed below)) • Staff and students must wear appropriate suitable clothing, as should anyone else in the household • Any computers or mobile devices used should be in appropriate areas, for example not in bedrooms; and where possible be against neutral background • All live classes using Zoom are recorded by the teacher, and backed up elsewhere, enabling review of all sessions if required • Live classes should as a general rule be limited to no more than twenty minutes to provide a reasonable length of time for all users, and to balance screen time with other activities (it is accepted that there may be legitimate exceptions such as a peripatetic music lesson) • Language must be professional and appropriate as it would be within a classroom environment, including for any family members in the background • Teachers hosting classes will continue to use the three-warning behaviour policy for low level disruption, upon which on the third warning students will be removed from the session and the issue reported to the Deputy Head. Significant disruption, rudeness, or inappropriate content result in the user being removed immediately from the session and the issue reported to the Deputy Head. • Any user alarmed or concerned by any online Zoom session (either for content, breach of this policy, or other worry) should immediately contact one of the Deputy Heads, or Directors of Middle School and Sixth Form. • All students clicking on a Zoom link will be taking to a waiting room.